Conditions that slow learning in the session often improve retention and transfer afterwards.
Bjork's distinction is between performance during practice and learning measured later, and the two frequently move in opposite directions. Spacing, interleaving, testing and reduced feedback all make the session feel worse and the retention better, which is why learners reliably choose the method that teaches them least.
In practice
- A trainee who rereads feels fluent and recalls less than one who closed the book and struggled.
- A course that gets the best feedback forms produces the worst results at six months.
- Further reading
- Wikipedia
- Subject
- Learning & Education
- Essay
- What works in learning, and what schools can and cannot change